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Government: Insurance Companies Offering Coverage For Spouses Must Extend It To Same-sex Married Couples

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that insurance companies offering coverage to married heterosexual couples will soon be obligated to offer it to married same-sex couples.

In a post from Matthew Heinz, Director of Provider & LGBT Outreach, on the Department's blog Friday, he says that starting in 2015, "insurance companies will not be permitted to discriminate against married same-sex couples when offering coverage."

Heinz also adds that legally married same-sex couples are treated equally for purposes of financial assistance when they purchase coverage in the healthcare marketplace – no matter where they live.

For more information, visit: www.hhs.gov.

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